Neil Warnock would like to see the Championship season completed in full - and is not handing former club Leeds United promotion just yet.
Warnock is not ruling out the possibility that Marcelo Bielsa's men could be caught by the chasing pack, which includes Nottingham Forest.
With the season suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaders Leeds and West Bromwich Albion occupy the two automatic promotion spots.
The Yorkshire side have a seven-point lead over third-placed Fulham and are 11 ahead of Brentford and Forest.
However, they will be wary of what happened last season, when the team fell away before being beaten by Derby County in the play-offs.
It is hoped that the 2019-20 campaign can resume and be completed in full, if it is safe to do so, with players set to return to training next week.
Warnock, who managed Leeds between 2012 and 2013, told Sky Sports: "I hope that they can get the opportunity to finish it off, even if it is behind closed doors.
"For so long, how many years (have they been trying to get back in the Premier League)? Even when I was at Leeds.
"The fans were amazing and they do deserve to be back in there.
"But the other clubs, they know that Leeds have blown up in the past, in the last few games.
"So you wouldn't write your Fulhams and your Brentfords off, because of the three points for a game.
"So I do hope that they finish the nine games, even if it's behind closed doors.
"And I'm not too bothered how long it takes."
Warnock understands if players are wary about returning to action due to health concerns.
"In a situation like this, where it is life or death, make no mistake about it, I would have had a chat with all my squad and said: 'Look, I will not hold it against you, any of you, if you don't want to train, if you don't want to play, if you don't feel right'," he added.
"At this moment in time, if you're not happy, then you should give it a miss, if you're a player, and not be punished for it."
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